Apollo

From New Delhi to New York – the ever-growing brand of DAG

Late Maharaja of Benaras (1986), Raghu Rai

The Indian art gallery opened its first modest space in Delhi in 1993. Now its spaces and partnerships extend across the globe

‘Rehearsals were frequently full of laughter’ – remembering Jonathan Miller

Jonathan Miller. Photo: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies

The late stage director, filmmaker, comedian, writer and medical man wore his experience lightly – and made an excellent museum guide

Rebecca Salter elected first female president of RA

Rebecca Salter, president of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Art news daily: 11 December

George Herriman’s Krazy Kat – revisiting an abstruse but charming comic strip

George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, a detail of the Sunday page from 6 March 1938

The story of a simple-minded cat and his animal neighbours was never widely popular – but it counted E.E. Cummings and De Kooning among its fans

A Delft touch – the intricate patterns of Pieter de Hooch

Woman with a Child in a Pantry (detail; c. 1656–60), Pieter de Hooch. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Dutch painter’s courtyard and interior scenes reveal his fascination with frames, grids and lines

Bettina Korek appointed chief executive of Serpentine Galleries

Bettina Korek.

Art news daily: 10 December

How a small German city became a leading home for new media art

The Doors (video still detail; 2019), Zach Blas.

The Edith-Russ-Haus in Oldenburg is currently host to an exhibition exploring the rise of ‘nootropics’, or smart drugs, in Silicon Valley

Finnish lines – paintings from the land of a thousand lakes

A lake view (1905), Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

Lakeside views by the painters Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Hugo Simberg are coming to auction this week

Performance artist eats Maurizio Cattelan banana in Miami

Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Art news daily: 9 December

From Gold Digger to Gossip Girl – meet cutes at the museum

Julia Ormond as Julia and Ben Barnes as Benjamin in Gold Digger.

If films and television are anything to go by, it seems the main raison to go to an art gallery is to find a date

‘A buffet of bums, boobs and bollocks’ – Giulio Romano at Palazzo Te

Detail of the south wall of the Sala di Psiche, Palazzo Te, Mantua, Giulio Romano and workshop.

The 16th-century frescoed palace has been sexed up with a show exploring power and desire in the mannerist’s art

Penn Museum returns ancient clay tablets to Iraq

Clay tablet from Iraq, from between 2100 to 2000BC. Photo: Kyle Cassidy

Art news daily: 6 December

Acquisitions of the month: November 2019

Queen Henrietta Maria (detail; 1636), Anthony van Dyck.

Jayne Wrightsman’s final gift to the Met and a silver-gilt toilet service at the Louvre are among this month’s highlights

Museums across France close or restrict access due to national strikes

Protestors in Paris on 5 December 2019.

Art news daily: 5 December

Exit through the gift shop

Queen Victoria’s Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle (1850), James Roberts.

Apollo’s editors pick out some arty stocking fillers, from a glow-in-the-dark Leonardo figurine to Mondrian-inspired socks

And the winner of this year’s Turner Prize is… the Turner Prize itself

The collective winners of the Turner Prize 2019.

Despite the mutterings of most critics, the decision to award the prize to all four nominees makes a lot of sense – and is good for contemporary art

Turner Prize awarded to all four shortlisted artists

The collective winners of the Turner Prize 2019.

Art news daily: 4 December

Mane attraction – the star quality of Susan Sontag

For all her flaws – and love of the limelight – Sontag’s commitment to seriousness feels more necessary than ever

Controversial monument containing ashes from Holocaust victims installed in Berlin

Centre for Political Beauty activists install their work in Berlin in December 2019.

Art news daily: 3 December

‘The dungeons are decorated with wreaths left by slaves’ descendants’

Fishermen in front of Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, with a staircase on the left leading up to a ‘Door of No Return’.

Four centuries after the first English slave ship arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, the president of Ghana is urging members of the African diaspora to discover their roots

From the high life to the Life of Christ – James Tissot’s path to piety

Self-portrait (c. 1865), James Tissot. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

On his 50th birthday the society painter set off for the Holy Land, experiencing something of a conversion

Mayor of Budapest halts construction of €250m New National Gallery

Art news daily: 2 December

The Apollo 40 under 40 podcast: Mohamed Elshahed

The writer and researcher has written a comprehensive new history of modern architecture in Cairo

Van Dyck, the artist’s artist

An exhibition in Munich explores the less familiar aspects of the portraitist’s work, including the support he gave to his peers